Last weekend, hundreds of musicians, industry professionals and music lovers came together at MOTIV Kampala for the second Amplify Uganda Music Expo (AUMEX), dubbed “Building a Scalable Future for Ugandan Music.”
The event, organized in collaboration with Guinness Smooth and Talent Africa Group, offered a stimulating forum for vital discussions on how to improve Uganda’s creative economy, including talent export, brand alliances, music rights and royalties.
Shadrack Kisame, the CEO of Ugatunes, gave a guided Ugatunes demo to start the day off, highlighting Uganda’s in-house music distribution platform designed to support local artistes. Amanda Gowa (Africa Creatives Alliance), Keith Lubega (Xpressions UG), and Khalil Rahman (Kigali Multimedia Hub) further discussed “The Infrastructure Behind the Art”, examining how creatives can move beyond music into sustainable business and branding endeavors.
Motolani Alake warned against prioritizing “virality” over artistic quality, arguing, “The music still needs to be good.”
“Songs that resonate deeply with people are the ones that endure, even though viral moments come and go,” Alake added.
In other sessions, Roy Tumwizere, head of Advocacy at Diageo Uganda Breweries Limited, influencer Lucy Bunyenyezi, and Kenyan PR specialist Anyiko Owoko discussed influencer partnerships and personal branding. Jenny Tan (TOORLY), Ali Alibhai (Talent Africa Group), and Ayanda Ngcobo (Nasty C’s artist manager) spoke to how artistes can use fan data and digital platforms to reach new audiences and create long-lasting international careers.
Among the attendees was French ambassador to Uganda, Virginie Leroy who praised Kampala’s artistic development, calling it “a melting pot of creativity that continues to surprise and inspire.”
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